Grauburgunder (Pinot Grigio or Pinot Gris)

Grauburgunder, or Ruländer, is the German synonym for the grape more widely known as Pinot Gris in France and Pinot Grigio in Italy.

The variety is a mutation of Pinot Noir and originates from Burgundy where it was first documented in the Middle Ages. In the 14th century plantings of Grauburgunder came to the Kaiserstuhl in Baden via the Balaton region of Hungary and Alsace.

Although Grauburgunder produces white wine, its skins, when fully ripe, have a rust-red tinge. The grape is a particularly popular variety in southern Germany, especially in Baden, where the warmer temperatures and longer sunshine hours allow it to fully develop its characteristic fruity pear and pineapple flavours. In 2005 there were 1,619 ha of plantings, which accounted for 10 % of the total vineyard area in Baden. Today, Grauburgunder vines are also grown in the Pfalz (992 ha; 4.2 % of the vineyard area) and in Rheinhessen (1069 ha: 4.1 % of the vineyard area). In Germany as a whole, plantings totalled 4,211 ha in 2005 accounting for 4.1% of the total vineyard area in the whole country. This percentage makes Grauburgunder the fourth most important white wine grape variety in Germany.

Grauburgunder is sometimes referred to as Ruländer in Germany. This name originated in 1771, when a German merchant, named Johann Seger Ruland discovered a grape growing wild in the fields of Speyer in the Palatinate (Pfalz). The wine he produced became known as Ruländer and the vine was later found to be Pinot Gris.

Nowadays, although the names Ruländer and Grauburgunder are interchangeable, the term Grauburgunder is usually used to refer to the more elegant style of wines that work well with food. Ruländer is a term often used, although not exclusively, in the Baden region to refer mostly to the sweeter and heavier style of wines.

 

See also our previous grape profiles, and related region profiles.